


The Ward

by certifiedspaceace



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: ADHD, Addiction, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Anger Management, Anxiety, Avoidant Personality Disorder, Bipolar Disorder, Dependency, Depression, Dissociation, Dissociative Identity Disorder, Eating Disorders, Eventual Smut, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Insomnia, Long Term Mental Health Center, M/M, Mania, Mental Health Issues, Multi, Nightmares, Panic Attacks, Paranoia, Past Child Abuse, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Psychopathic Tendencies, Pyromania, Teenagers, Therapy, Trying to get better, Unhealthy Obsession, Violence, just a little bit
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-29
Updated: 2019-12-06
Packaged: 2020-11-01 06:03:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,081
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20810279
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/certifiedspaceace/pseuds/certifiedspaceace
Summary: The Austin Mental Health Center is known for having one of the best long term psychiatric wards in the country. Because of this, the center had had to make separate, smaller, overflow wards to hold all of their patients. In one of these smaller wards are fifteen 17&18 year old's trying to get better, one day at a time. Their small world starts to change when they get two new patients in the ward. Though the good times, and the bad times, these kids are going to have to learn that everything will be okay in the end. Won't it?





	1. July 1st, 2019; 9:30 AM- Group Therapy

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first work for this (or any) fandom. It's probably not the best, and definitely not edited enough, but I'm going to post it anyway, and hopefully you like it.

“Since we have some new people here today, why don’t we start by going around the circle and stating your name, why you’re here, as well as one good thing that happened yesterday, that wasn’t food, sleep, or family.”

“My name is Michael Jones, and I’m here for violence and Pyromania. One good thing from yesterday… well, I guess, I finished the puzzle I’ve been working on, does that count? ‘Cus that’s all I got.”

“Very good, Michael, finishing your puzzle is a good thing, I know you’ve been working hard on it. Who’s next?” Miss Mary looked at Ray, who was sitting next to Michael, and waited for him to start. When he didn’t Mary prompted:

“Ray… why don’t you go now, yeah?”

“Do I have to,” was the only response.

Miss Mary sighed, “Yes Ray, you have to, you know that. Introductions aren't optional, no matter how long you’ve stayed with us.”

Ray sighed, but didn’t argue, “My name is Ray Narveaz Jr., I’m here for too many things to count,” that got him a look from Mary, “but, more specifically, I got sent here for Paranoia and Anxiety, and one good thing that happened yesterday is that I beat Michael in rock, paper, scissors during our T.V. time, so we watched Parks and Rec. instead of The Office, for like, the a thousandth time.” Michael rolled his eyes at that.

“We wouldn't if you hadn’t cheated, again”

Mary gave both of them a disappointed look. The girl next to them started laughing.

“How do you cheat at ‘Rock, Paper, Scissors’ ” She laughed.

“Very carefully,” Ray interjected, “or that’s how I assume you would, if it happened, which it didn’t.” Ray looked over at Michael and smirked. “I don’t cheat, I am a very honest gamer.”

“GAMERS RISE UP!” She very loudly insisted, still laughing. “Anyway, I’m Lindsay ‘Tugglyfe’ Tuggey, and I’m here for being too amazing for the world to handle,” She stated matter-of-factly, which got a snort for Michael, and a glare from Mary. “Okay, okay, I’m actually here for Bulimia and Bipolar Disorder, especially Maina. As for a good thing to happen yesterday, gosh, how do I pick one, uhhhhhh… okay, how about uhhhh, hmmmm, oh! Okay, yeah, I beat Michael in Mario Kart, Twice! In a row. Yeah, that’s like, highlight of the month material right there, mmmmhmmm.” She stated with a definite nod. “Okay, your turn!” she looked over at the person next to her and smiled.

“Oh, uhhh, okay. M-my name’s Gavin Free, and-”

“Oh! Your new! Sweet, My names Lindsay,” she stuck her hand out for a hand shake.

Mary gave Lindsay a warning look and Lindsay put her hand down “Lindsay, you had your turn, give Gavin his. Go on Gavin, why are you here and what’s one good thing from yesterday?”

“Oh, uhhh, yeah, I’m Gavin, right, and uhhhh, I’m here for addiction, mostly, I guess, and one good thing from yesterday, hmmm… I guess not dying, yeah? Like that was pretty top, ‘cus I didn’t die, so…”

“Some may say that not living is better,” Ray looked at Gavin with a raised eyebrow, “you feel me.”

Mary shot Ray a glare, “Okay, who’s next?” trying to move away from that subject, remembering how Ray came into the hospital the first time, before he was in the ward.

“Well, My names Jeremy, I’m here for violence and maina, and the best thing from yesterday was watching Ray definitely not cheat at rock, paper, scissors.”

Mary just sighed.

“Fiona Nova, here for Bipolar disorder and Anger Management, best thing from yesterday was finishing the painting I was working on.” Fiona was practically still asleep.

“Uhhh, I guess it’s my turn, uhhhh, My name’s Alfredo, and I’m here because of Dissociation, Anxiety, and Panic Disorder. One good thing from yesterday would be getting an ace in Siege, for sure. Your turn, Trev.”

“TRAYCO!!” Both Michael and Jeremy shout. Mary gives them a disappointed look.

“No yelling, you both know that,” she states. They both mumble apologies

“Right, I’m Trevor Collins, I’m here because of addiction and Depression, and the best thing from yesterday was finishing my book. See, it’s not that hard. Look how easy that was to do quickly.”

“Trevor, just because your upset, doesn’t give you the right to be rude to others.” Mary scolded, even if she secretly agreed with him. Trevor rolled his eyes, clearly annoyed, but apologized anyway, not wanting to get in trouble.

“Name’s Matt-”

“Bragg about it.” Seven people interjected.  
  
“-Matt Bragg, here for PTSD, Depression, and Avoident Personality Disorder. Good thing from yesterday, getting Mario Maker 2 on the Switches.”

“Oh, that’s a good one. Anyway, my name is Kerry Shawcross, and I’m here for PTSD, Anxiety, Depression, ya know, the works, and I finished the animation I was working on yesterday, so that’s good.”

“Nice, Kerry! You should show me during free time, I’d love to see it. I’m Jack Pattillo, and I’m here for Avoidant Personality Disorder and Anxiety. The best thing about yesterday was beating the level I’ve been working on in Cloudberry Kingdom.”

“Ryan Haywood, DID, best thing from yesterday, got some new books.” Ryan hoped he wouldn’t get in trouble from his short and less than enthusiastic answers, but he was struggling to maintain control. He knew what James wanted to do and he wasn’t going to let that happen, especially since they just got here.

Geoff looked Ryan over and shrugged, he’d been in moods like that, where he was short and uninterested in everything, he got it. “Name’s Geoff Ramesy, that’s Geoff with a ‘G’, and I’m here because of Alcoholism, Depression, and PTSD. One good thing from yesterday was getting Jack’s late birthday present in the mail.”

Miles nodded, “I’m Miles Luna, and I’m here because of Mania, Anxiety, and ADHD. The best thing from yesterday was helping Kerry with his animation, or maybe getting to look through Lindsay’s sketchbook. Both were pretty great.”

“God Miles, you’re only supposed to share one good thing from yesterday, gotta brag about all the happiness flowing inside you, don’t ya?” Ray joked, “Why don’t you share some of that with the rest of us?”

“I would love to share my happiness with you, and everyone else, Ray, but you always deny my group hugs, so…” Miles giggled

“Man, I could use some of Miles happiness today. I’m Jon Risinger, I’m here for Anxiety, Paranoia, Depresion, … etcetera, and a good thing from yesterday is playing Pokemon, I guess. Next.”

“Chad James, uhhhh, here for PTSD and Dissociation. Best thing from yesterday, hands down, looking at Lindsay’s sketchbook. Her drawings are both cute and hilarious.”

“Alright, my turn? Okay, name’s Barbara Dunkelman, but I’m more like Barbara Pun-kelman, amiright? Huh-huh, get it, it’s a pun.” When no one laughed she added, “oh, you guys are no fun.”

“Barb, no offence, but you make that ‘joke’ almost every single time it’s brought up, and it has never once been funny.” Michael deadpanned.

"On the contrary Michael, it’s always funny- or punny, if you will- but you all just have no sense of humor, anyway, I’m Barbara, I’m here for Bipolar, Addiction, and Anxiety. The best thing to happen yesterday was getting Ray to laugh at one of my jokes during lunch."

Mary cleared her throat, “Alright, now that we have done our introductions, welcome to our newcomers by the way, why don’t we start with our group therapy. Who would like to start?”

The room was silent.

“Oh come on now, someone has to start, if no one wants to share, I’ll just pick someone, you know that.” It seemed to just be one of those days where no one wanted to participate. Mary hoped that once someone in the group started talking, that it would help others start to open up again.

Ray sighed, knowing that if someone didn’t start then Mark would have him do it, she always did, since he had been here the longest, and his problems are endless, really, not that Mary admitted to the last part. “I almost broke my mirror yesterday.”

“I’ve broken enough mirrors to give me probably a thousand bloody years of bad luck, if you believe in that stuff.” Gavin mumbled, half-laughing towards the end.

“Bloody years? Are those worse than regular years?” Jeremy asked.

Gavin rolled his eyes, “No, I’m just British, prick.”

Mary gave Gavin a look, but Jeremy laughed, “Fair enough. I guess I deserved that one, didn’t I?”

“Ray, they’ve got you on those new vitamins, don’t they? How are those?” Jon asked.

Ray jolted, he had almost fallen asleep again, “Huh, oh yeah, they’re alright I guess, better than the old ones, and they don’t give me a stomach ache, or affect my appetite, so overall, no complaints on my part.”

Gavin made a bird sound, “Wot you take vitamins for?”

Lindsay was the one to answer, “Ray’s a vegetarian, and doesn’t eat enough most of the time, so he has to take vitamins to replace the stuff he doesn’t get in his regular diet.”

“I’ll have you know, I haven’t come in under weight in like 2 weeks, so…”


	2. July 1st, 2019; 4:00 PM- Art Therapy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been longer than I wanted since I posted the last chapter, and neither of these chapters are very long, I know. I've had a hard time focusing on anything recently. The ADHD/Depression/Anxiety combo for the win. Hopefully it won't be another month before a post another chapter (and hopefully they won't be super short). Until then, enjoy the probably mediocre chapters that I do have.

“Okay everyone, I know free days are usually on Friday’s or the weekends, but since we have some new people here today, we’ll have a free day today instead of Friday. So, you can make whatever you want with any of the supplies in the room, just have fun!”

Everyone started to disperse and work on their own projects, and Gavin just sort of just sat there, not knowing what to do. This new situation was making him anxious. 

“Hey, you’re the new kid right? Do you want to sit with us?” The curly, auburn haired kid with all the freckles, what was his name? Michael? Yeah, that’s right, Michael asked. 

“Um, yeah, sure. My name’s Gavin.” 

“Michael.” Michael lead them over to one of the tables in the back corner near the windows, that had a few other kids at it. “Guys, this is Gavin, he’s going to sit with us.”

Ray just nodded, without looking up from his painting. Jeremy looked up and greeted Gavin with a ‘sup’, before going back to his drawing. Lindsay pulled out the chair next to her and motioned for Gavin to sit down. “Welcome to the cool kids table.” 

Gavin sat down, but still didn’t really know what to do with himself. He looked around at what everyone else was doing, Ray was painting a beautiful landscape, Jeremy was working on a portrait of someone, Lindsay had gone back to doing sketches in her sketchbook, and Michael was coloring in a swear word coloring book. Then there was Gavin, sitting there looking like an idiot, he was just getting more anxious.

“Hey Gavin, you don’t seem to have anything to work on. Is there something in particular that you would be interested in doing?” The art therapist, David, asked.

“Oh, um, yeah, I just don’t really know what to do I guess.” Gavin shrugged.

“Well that’s okay, do you like to draw? Or paint? We have lots of coloring books, markers, colored pencils, and crayons if you want to do that. There’s plenty of other art supplies if none of those things seem interesting. What do you think? Anything sound like something you’d want to try?” David smiled nicely at him, trying not to stress him out too much.

“Do you have any of those-those paint by number things, ya know?”

“Yes actually, I think we do have a few of those, would you like one?”

“Yes please.” Gavin was starting to feel better, and less anxious already. He was really glad they had one of the things that he used as a coping mechanism. 

“Here ya go, there’s one with some dolphins, a geometric lion, and one of a park landscape, enjoy.”

Gavin decided to go with the lion and started to paint, maybe staying here wouldn’t be too bad.


	3. July 1st, 2019; 5:00 PM- Game Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully there aren't many errors in either of these chapters, because the universe knows if I tried to seriously edit anything I would never post anything.
> 
> Oh! And this chapter introduces two of Ryan's alters: Vagabond and King. A few notes for them, Vaga doesn't talk, but likes to draw (it's like a nonverbal way to express how he feels and stuff). King is ... something. As you could probably guess, King's based of the Mad King, so he's, well, you know, mad. Just a warning about King; he has a pretty unhealthy obsession with Ray, but it won't get abusive or manipulative (I couldn't write something like that).
> 
> Enjoy the chapter, there should be more soon (hopefully) :P

Vagabond had been fronting since lunch, and he felt very … out of place. Vaga usually liked to keep to himself, and unlike some of the other alters, he knew he couldn’t just do whatever he wanted, that there’d be consequences to his actions. He did, however, draw something for Ray, who had piqued all of their interests since they had gotten here. It was a deep scarlet colored rose, and he was debating on giving it to Ray or not. Ray reminded them of the flower, with beautiful, soft, velvety petals, and hidden, sharp thorns. He walked up to Ray as he was going into the game room and handed him the picture.

“Oh, is this for me?” Ray asked.

Vaga just nodded.

“Well, thanks, I guess.” Ray looked at the drawing, “Did you draw this? It’s really good.”

Vaga nodded again.

Ray smiled at the picture, then at Vaga and thanked him again before going into the game room and plopping down onto the couch. They were playing some fighting game.

Vagabond could feel the tell tale headache of King trying to front coming on, and Vaga was tired, so he went into the game room, sat down in the back, and let King come out. It was a very slow, draining switch, but when King finally fronted he was more than ready to take advantage of the time he had. Unlike the cowards he shared a body with, he wasn’t afraid, and if the others weren’t going to act, then he would have to take matters into his own hands. King looked around the room until he saw what he wanted. 

Ray. The precious angel. Ryan, the fucking idiot, was trying to deny him what was his. Ryan should know better than that, really, because not only will it not work, but it just makes him try harder to take what he wanted. And currently, what he wanted was Ray. His Queen. 

King walked over to the couch Ray was sitting on and sat down between him and Geoff. He put his arm on the back of the couch, behind Ray. Ray didn’t notice, he was to busy trying to beat Jack at his own game. King sat there and watched the game, or rather, watched Ray while he played. Ray ended up losing to Jack, not that King noticed, or cared. King didn’t realize that the match was over until Ray passed the controller to Alfredo, who was in the chair next to the couch. King moved ever so slightly towards Ray and moved his arm down. Ray was staring off into space, not paying attention to anything. King’s arm came to rest near Ray’s lap and Ray absentmindedly grabbed his hand and started to fiddle with King’s fingers. King smiled to himself, what an angel; pure and innocent. Absolutely perfect. King never realized that there was something missing from him, but now, with his Queen here by his side, he couldn’t imagine a world without him. He would protect his angel; keep him safe, no matter what.


	4. July 1, 2019; 8:00 PM- Free Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter took waaaaay longer to finish than what I had planned (and it's still not as long as I wish is was, sorry, they'll get longer eventually) That being said, I do really like this chapter. It switches perspectives in a way during the beginning, since Ray doesn’t know Ryan’s not fronting, he refers to Ryan’s body as ‘Ryan’, while King refers to himself as ‘King’ (obviously).
> 
> Speaking of King, this chapter does a pretty good job of showing off some of King’s feelings and intentions with Ray (or at least I hope it does). He’s a little misguided, and doesn’t really have a great understanding on how most ‘normal’ people just act in general really, but his heart’s in the right place. Just remember that for later.
> 
> Also there's some Geoff/Jack stuff at the end ('cus this isn't just the raywood show, and who doesn't love team og)
> 
> I’ve probably rambled on too much, so I’ll let you go on to the actual chapter now, sorry :p  
-Ace

Ray sat in his room, reading a book Trevor recommended for him in silence. If there was anything Ray both loved and hated about being in the ward, it would be the constant silence. He definitely didn’t miss his step-dad’s unending belittling, or anything about his step-siblings if he was being honest, but New York is called the city that never sleeps for a reason; there’s always something happening, always the background noise of other people going about their days, living their lives. There’s something calming about just listening, about not having to think or do anything. Being able to just sit back, relax, and listen to people he didn’t know live lives he wasn’t a part of. There was something strangely nice about knowing people had lives in which he held no responsibility in because he didn’t exist within their life. It was nice to think about how there are lives where he’s not disappointing anyone, where no one’s mad or upset at him about anything. Ray put his book down and sighed as someone walked into his door frame.

“Oh, hey Ryan, what’s up?” 

Ryan seemingly ignored the question as he walked into Ray’s room and sat on his bed, facing Ray. King picked up the book Ray had been reading, “You been reading this?”

“Oh, uh… yeah. Trevor recommended it. It’s pretty good so far.” Ray had no idea what was going on at this point.

“You like to read?” All King wanted was to know more about the angel sitting in front of him, he didn’t get why Ray seemed almost jumpy. He would never hurt his beautiful Queen. Never. 

Ray was only getting more confused, “Uhh, yeah I guess. It’s something to do, ya know? When you’ve been here as long as I have, you start to realize you’ve got a lot of time to fill, and not a lot of things to fill it with.”

“Interesting.” Ryan just looked around Ray’s room, seemingly not interested in any more conversation. So they sat there in silence for a few minutes, before King grabbed Ray’s and held it, rubbing the back of Ray’s hand with his thumb. King looked Ray up and down before he met Ray’s eyes, “Beautiful. Just perfect.” King kissed the back of Ray’s hand, “Every bit.”

Ray rolled his eyes, trying to ignore the blush taking over his cheeks, “You don’t mean that.”

“Why wouldn’t I?” King tilted his head to the side, looking at Ray with curiosity and confusion. 

~~~~~~~~~~~

Jack came to sit next to Geoff on his bed, “So, the weather, amiright?”

Geoff rolled his eyes and smiles, “Is that really what you came in here for?”

“Excuse you, I’m trying to start a conversation here; but if you want to just jump right into important stuff then tell me, how are you feeling?”

Geoff leaned back against his pillow, looking away from Jack. “How did I know you were going to ask that?”

“Because I’m you boyfriend and I care about you and how you’re feeling.”

“What a fucking sap.”

Jack rolled his eyes, “If giving a shit about you is sappy, then I will gladly be the sappiest person there’s ever been.” Jack grabbed Geoff’s hand, “And I’m never going to stop, because you deserve it.”

Geoff just sighed and leaned against Jack’s side. “What did I ever do to deserve you?”

“You survived.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *insert 'I'm a survivor' by Destiny's Child*


End file.
